In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
Many business establishments, such as bars or restaurants, serve food and drinks to customers for consumption on the premises in exchange for money. When a customer visits one of these establishments, the customer generally sits down at an empty table, while waiting for a waiter to arrive and take the customer's order. Typically, after the waiter arrives and takes the customer's order, the waiter enters the order into a point-of-sale (POS) system so that the order can be timely prepared and tracked for payment. When the order is ready, the waiter brings the order to the customer. At some point, the waiter, either upon the customer's request or through the establishment's serving procedure, brings a bill for the order to the customer. If the bill is correct, then the customer pays by handing cash, a check, a prepaid card or a credit card to the waiter. Subsequently, the waiter takes the proffered form of payment and manually pays the bill via the POS system. If the bill is incorrect, then the waiter uses the POS to correct the bill and provide the bill, as corrected, to the customer for payment.
One drawback of the above is that prior to the bringing of the order, short of asking the waiter or viewing the POS system, the customer is unable to verify that the order, as placed by the customer, was correctly entered into the POS system. If the waiter is serving many patrons or tables simultaneously, then this can be particularly frustrating to the customer. Incorrect orders, especially if reoccurring, are inefficient for the establishment's operation, reduce the establishment's profitability if detected after the order has been prepared, harm the establishment's reputation and can be grounds for the waiter's termination.
Another drawback of the above is that the manual payment of the bill is relatively slow and prone to errors and fraud. If the waiter is serving many patrons or tables simultaneously, then this can be particularly frustrating to the customer. Quick bill payment improves the establishment's operation as more customers can be served, while increasing time for attending to new customers, who often wait for service or open tables. Similarly, billing errors and fraud are inefficient for the establishment's operation, harm the establishment's reputation, reduce the establishment's profitability and can expose the establishment to lawsuits.
Yet another drawback of the above is that the customer is unable to easily pay a portion of the bill in sequential portions. Since some establishments, like bars, have running tabs, especially for groups of customers, when the customer periodically pays the bills in sequential portions, these establishments reduce the occurrence of unpaid large bills, while increasing their profitability. Similarly, the customer's ability to pay in sequential portions allows the customer to budget accordingly and prevent many payment-related mishaps.
Still another drawback of the above is that the customer is unable to accurately determine, in real-time, the total amount of charges incurred by the customer at any given moment. Knowledge of one's bill, in real-time, enables the customer to budget accordingly, prevent many payment-related mishaps and perceive the establishment in better light. Likewise, the establishment's reputation is enhanced and business operation improved when its employees are able to accurately determine, in real-time, the total amount of charges incurred by any of its customers at any given moment.
Yet still another drawback of the above is that during the manual payment of the bill, the waiter is often unable to perform other tasks, such as taking a new order from a new customer or bringing the order to another customer. Efficiency of waiter operations is important to the operation of the establishment as the establishment's profitability and reputation are improved when the waiters are constantly serving the customers and the customers feel cared for.
Any of the above or permutations thereof are made more complex if the bill is long or complicated or when a group of customers dine together and each member of the group desires to pays separately. As a result, there is room for error. Cumulatively, such occurrences can ruin the establishment's reputation and reduce visits from other customers. This is becoming especially common when the customers post comments on their experience in the establishment on popular social networking sites or review sites.
Accordingly, there is a need to address at least one of the above.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.